Faithful to Nanai’s instructions, Torugaru built a magnificent capital on the plain and began farming the land. That year, however, not a single grain of rice was harvested. Nanai’s Star Reading revealed that an evil spirit envied Ten no Kami’s power and cursed the river’s source, causing the crops to fail.
Nanai beseeched Ten no Kami to aid Torugaru, his heaven-born son. For seven days and seven nights he remained lost in prayer, taking no food. On the night of the eighth day, the god spoke: “Give Torugaru a sacred sword, engraved with my seal. He and eight mighty warriors must travel to a spring deep within the Misty Blue Mountains. There he will find one whose soul has been devoured by this wicked spirit. It must be slain with the sword and its blood spilled into the river to wash away the evil spell. Only then will this land be purified and blessed with my bounty.”
Nanai took the king’s sword and engraved on it the god’s symbol, the North Star. (This same sword, named Star’s Heart, has passed down through the royal line to this day.) Torugaru chose from among his vassals the eight most just and courageous warriors. Then, armed only with the sacred sword, he pushed his way deep into the mountains.
Upon a mountain path, the warriors met some Yakoo, who were weeping bitterly. “Why do you grieve?” Torugaru asked.
They answered him, “A demon ate the soul of one of our children, and now the boy has disappeared into the mountains, disguised in the demon’s shape. This same evil creature awakes once every hundred years. So it has been since ancient times.” Throwing themselves upon the ground before Torugaru, they begged him to slay the monster and save them all.
“Fear not,” he told them, “for I am protected by Ten no Kami, who sent me to perform this very task.”
Farther up the river they climbed until they came to a dense wood, where the mist lay deepest. There they found a spot where the water gushed from the ground. Beside it sat a young boy. When he saw Torugaru, he pointed to the spring and said, “Worship me, for I am the keeper of the water in this land. In return, I will charm this spring so that your fields will always bear plenty.”
Torugaru realized the evil creature had reassumed the boy’s appearance. Undeceived by its words, he swept Star’s Heart from its scabbard. The boy transformed into the slippery water demon and attacked him. For three days and three nights, Torugaru and his eight mighty warriors fought the demon. At last, they severed its head and let the blue blood that gushed from its neck pour into the spring. A flash of lightning split the heavens and struck the spring, filling it with light, and the water burst up into the sky. Purified by the heavens, it turned to rain, which fell upon the earth and cleansed it of the demon’s influence.
Thus Torugaru brought bountiful harvests to the land and became its first Mikado, our divine ruler. He named the land New Yogo, which means “new land blessed by Ten no Kami.” And that is how Torugaru proved he was truly the son of Ten no Kami and protected by his grace.
As Shuga approached the Star Palace, his mind went back to Torugaru’s mentor, Nanai. The Star Readers have guided the people since the country’s founding, he thought. Nanai had become Master Star Reader, and it was he who instructed the first Star Readers in the laws of Tendo. He sought out boys who showed unusual promise, regardless of rank, and brought them to the Star Palace for training. The one who proved most talented eventually rose to the supreme rank of Master Star Reader, versed in all the secret knowledge and rituals.
Even two centuries after Nanai’s death, it’s still the same, Shuga mused. While most people believe the Mikado is in charge, it’s really us Star Readers, led by our Master, who guide his decisions.
The instant Shuga passed through the Star Gate, which was studded with mother-of-pearl to symbolize the brilliance of the stars, his troubled mind filled with calm. He had lived here for eight years now, yet every time he entered he felt the same flood of peace. And as always, he thought that anyone other than a Star Reader would experience indescribable loneliness at the sight before him.
While lush green trees surrounded all the other palaces, the Star Palace was encircled by a vast courtyard of white sand, with not a leaf nor blade of grass to be seen. Every Star Reader knew the reason for this: The slightest sigh could become an enormous obstacle when trying to catch the faint whisper of the gods in the movement of the heavens. Thus, to accomplish their task, the Star Readers had to block out every distraction — not just sounds, but their awareness of other creatures and their own thoughts and desires. This was why the first Master Star Reader, Kainan Nanai, had insisted that the palace be surrounded by sand. He had also forbidden anyone but single men to live in the precincts, because family, too, could be a distraction. Married men lived in Ogi no Naka and traveled from there.
The sand shifted softly under Shuga’s feet as he walked toward the palace — a perfect hexagon of white stone roofed with black tiles. The Star Tower, where Readers on duty read the sky day and night, soared up from the center. When he had first seen it, Shuga felt he had stepped into a new world: No longer was he a fisherman’s son. If he succeeded in becoming a Star Reader, he would gain noble rank, a place in this sanctified world, and eventually, the power to run the country’s affairs. Now, eight years later, the tranquility of that space, paved in white sand, had penetrated his very soul. This was the only life he knew.
Morning was the slowest time of day at the palace. An elderly man moved his broom methodically near the entrance, sweeping the sand smooth. When he noticed Shuga, he stopped and silently bowed his head.